Between the Lines
by ravenclawwriter98
Summary: The summer after they finish Hogwarts Scorpius Malfoy and Rose Weasley are busy adjusting to their new lives. Scorpius is an up and coming Quidditch Star and Rose doesn't know what her future holds. When a turn of fate brings them together one evening, their lives are changed, but will it be for the better?
1. Chapter 1: Closing Time

Rose Weasley stood over the counter, waving her wand lazily to reorganize the books as the shop was nearly closed. She tucked a stray curl behind her ear and turned the page in her latest book as the clock turned to 8:57. She sighed, wishing there was a spell that could speed time so she could lock the door and leave already. But just as the thought crossed her mind, the door chimed and someone rushed in. Rose groaned put her wand down and slowly raised her head to see the individual who has so quickly ruined her evening. Scorpius Malfoy was standing in front of her, slightly panting, with a sorry look painted across his face.

"Err, I'm sorry, but I need a book. Rose?"

"Scorpius?" she replied dryly. Rose, of course, knew who he was, but she hadn't interacted much and she never expected to see him again after graduation a few weeks back. It wasn't anything personal. Unlike her brother and a few of her cousins, she held no resentment towards him. They just had different circles in school. She spent her time in the library or with her small circle of friends around the Castle while he spent his on the Quidditch field and out with his many companions in Hogsmeade. She had heard that he had been drafted to the Magpies but couldn't be sure. And she had absolutely no clue why he had barged into her book shop 3 minutes prior to close.

"I didn't expect to see you here."

"I work here."

"I didn't know-"

"I didn't expect anyone to come waltzing in right as I finished cleaning up, but life is full of surprises, isn't it?"

"Sorry about that. I just need."

"A book. Yes. I gathered as much. Heavens knows why you need it at this time in the evening."

If Rose had been closer to Scorpius she might have known that he had indeed been drafted to the Magpies, that he had been in meetings and practices all day, and that it was his mother's birthday.

"I was caught up all day, but I've been dying to read it."

You must be talking about the latest Griffin Gabe Williams novel. I was just reading it."

"Yep, that's the one."

"We're sold out. We expect another batch to be in by next week at the earliest, but." She met his eyes fully for the first time and he looked desperate. She glanced back at the book she had just barely begun to enjoy and sighed. "Take this one."

"I'll bring it back, soon as I finish." He promised, practically prying it from her hesitant grip.

"Don't worry about it."

"I promise, Rose." Their eyes met again and something inside Rose made her believe the stranger that stood in front of her.

"Fine. But just get out of my bloody shop now so I can get on with me life." She ushered his towards the door.

"Thanks again!" he shot her a grin and apparated away as soon as he stepped outside the door.

Scorpius could not understand what had caused him to lie to Rose. The book was supposed to be for his mother, she was the one who loved reading. Scorpius rarely picked up a book in his life. But he wanted her to believe that he loved to read too and as he flipped through the pages of the book he knew nothing about, he wondered what his next encounter with the fiery Weasley girl would bring.


	2. Chapter 2: Surprises

It was not unusual for Rose to wake up to the sound of tea boiling in the kitchen. What was unusual was for Rose to not feel refreshed when she heard the sound. All in all, she estimated that she only slept for about four hours total, after tossing and turning all night thinking about how stupid it was to give her brand new book to Scorpius Malfoy, a man she had barely spoken three words to before that evening.

She rolled out of bed slowly, threw on her favorite sundress, tied her giant mop of hair in a bun and went downstairs. Her father was seated in front of the television eating his breakfast while her mother sat beside him reading the Daily Prophet.

"Morning you two," Rose greeted as she helped herself to a cup of tea and the little food her father had saved for her. They mumbled their response to her, both deeply engaged in the content they were consuming and Rose rolled her eyes. "Anything interesting in the news this morning, mum?" she asked as she leaned against the countertop sipping her tea.

"A rather harsh critique of the immigration law I helped write, but I would not have expected anything less from the Prophet." Hermione closed the paper and looked up at her daughter.

"Ah well, you can't please everybody," Rose shrugged and leaned down to pick up her bag that she had lazily thrown to the ground the night before. "I'm off," she announced walking towards the fireplace. She knew how to Apparate of course, but had be terrified to do so ever since her dad told her stories of his time in the War and the pain it could cause, so she stuck to the Floo System to get around most days.

"It's a bit early don't you think dear?" Hermione questioned. "Your father and I both have very important jobs at the Ministry and we still have plenty of time before we're needed in the office." Rose scowled.

"My job's important too, mum."

"I know honey, but I'm sure that shop of yours can wait."

"It can't." Rose said simply. "I'll see you both later."

"Can you at least stop by the house around noon to make sure your brother has at least attempted to get out of bed?" her mom called after her.

"Love you!" Her dad chimed in for the first time that morning.

When Rose arrived in Diagon Alley only a few others walked the street and none of the shops were open yet. She strolled to her beloved bookshop and muttered the charm to unlock the doors as she grabbed the mail out of the Owl Depository. She was pleased to find the latest edition of her favorite publication, Witch Weekly had arrived along with the Prophet her mother had been reading that same morning. After Rose turned the lights on and set up the register, she took her seat behind the counter and began to read her magazine.

She thought her mind was playing a trick on her when she first saw it. A misperception due to lack of sleep. For as she flipped through the various stories in the magazine she could have sworn she saw Malfoy staring back at her. She blinked rapidly and looked again. She was surprised to see that her mind was not playing tricks on her and it was indeed Malfoy's grin moving on the pages of her magazine.

The headline read 'Up and Coming Quidditch Star Shares His Secrets.' _So the rumors are true_ , Rose thought. She was curious about the blonde boy who was a Quidditch star and still read the novels that were taking the Wizarding World by storm. The article wasn't exactly demonstrating the journalistic skills Witch Weekly sometimes showed. It was mostly fluff, his favorite food, favorite class in school, what he would be if not a Quidditch star, his relationship status (he was single, but Rose wasn't sure why that stuck in her mind), and lastly the last book he had read. Finally, something of interest to her, the last book he had read. But she was surprised to read his response.

 _Malfoy chuckled before answering my question. "I can't really remember, probably a History of Magic in my Fifth Year at Hogwarts. I'm not much of a reader."_

Rose furrowed her brows. Which one of them had he lied to, the magazine reporter or her? She weighed the options. If he was an avid reader like he had told her, then he had probably lied to seem more athletic or something stupid. But if he wasn't lying to the magazine, then he had lied to her, and she couldn't for the life of her figure out why.

Shoppers were in and out of her bookshop all day, but Rose was hardly paying them much attention. She was too preoccupied thinking about why Scorpius had lied. She was reorganizing the muggle studies section, still thinking of him, when the door chimed. "I'm back here if you need me!" she called to the customer and continued to stock the shelves.

"I believe this belongs to you," and once again her new book was in front of her. She looked up and met the kind gray eyes that had been staring at her from the pages of WW all day.

"You're finished already? It's been 20 hours!" She was shocked.

"I'm a quick reader." he shrugged. "And I promised I would bring it back soon as I could." She smiled.

"Thank you." she paused about to leave it at that but she had to settle the question that had been bothering her all day. "You know, I never knew you to be interested in reading."

"You never really knew me at all."

"Well I don't recall ever seeing you in the Library at school."

"There are other places to read I reckon."

"Well, what did you think of it?" she fiddled with the book in her hands. "But don't spoil anything."

"It was brilliant. It was sarcastic & honest but didn't leave me thinking our lives are pointless. Just makes one think. Do you have any other recommendations?" Her eyes shined at the mention of her making a recommendation. She thought for a moment and then knew exactly what to give him. She scuttled off to another section and he followed.

"This one is similar. It's a commentary of life before the first War, but there are many similarities to today. I think you'll like it."

"Right then. How much?"

"2 Galleons." He fished around in his pocket and placed it in her hands. "Thanks again, but I better be off, I have to get back to practice."

"Right, wouldn't want to keep Britain's new favorite player from the field for too long." He grinned.

"See you around, Rose." She smiled and nodded. Her mind could surely be at peace now as Scorpius Malfoy would most likely never cross her path again.


	3. Chapter 3: Something About You

Scorpius Malfoy had not lied to Rose that day. He had stayed up most of the night, deeply engaged in the book she had lent him. He never thought a book could be so entertaining. And he _was_ a quick reader, that's how he was able to keep good grades and still focus on Quidditch while in school. His pre-season practice schedule consisted of early morning workouts and meetings, and afternoon break, and then evening drills and scrimmages. He hadn't expected to ask for another recommendation when he went to return the book but something inside of him didn't want their conversation to end so soon.

He spent the next few days thinking about her. Thinking about the way the dress had hugged her body and her deep blue eyes that never hesitated to meet his. He didn't understand why he hadn't noticed her much while they were at school. But then he remembered why he hadn't. It made him uneasy, thinking about what the other boys at school had said about her. There was no denying that she was, bigger, than many girls at Hogwarts and he recalled her being the subject of many jokes among students. He cared about that sort of thing while in school, but that seemed like forever ago. Now, just weeks out of the Castle, women of all ages were throwing themselves at him, especially after the bloody Witch Weekly article announced he was single. But not Rose. When he walked into the shop two nights before and found her, those eyes enthralled by what she was reading, curls falling out of pins she had pulled it back with, she seemed bothered by his presence. She was confident and witty, and damn it was sexy, sexier than any figure he had ever seen.

The following days Scorpius was made to travel all of Britain, doing promotional appearances for the team. But he couldn't shake her from his mind. He finished the book while he was gone, slower than before, but he wanted to be sure that he could go back as soon as possible when he was in London. When he apparated to his flat and dropped his bag off he noted it was 8 o'clock. He knew she would probably be bothered, if it was anything like the other night, but he decided to go anyway.

Rose half expected him to waltz in the next day, the other half expected to never see him again. She went about her normal routine, making recommendations, ordering new books, trading with shops around the world, and, thankfully, closing right on time. Four days later she had completely pushed any thought of her strange encounters with the Malfoy boy out of her mind. Until that evening, while she was sweeping the floor and he walked in, half an hour before the doors were supposed to lock.

"You're doing it the muggle way," he remarked instead of greeting her, bewildered that the brightest witch of their class was not using magic to clean the floor. But she merely shrugged, not even bothering to look up because she recognized the voice and knew of no other who would disturb her so late and not even say hello.

"I only just turned 17 a few months ago. Plus, I spent summers at my muggle grandparents house and it just stuck, I prefer it in a way."

"The other night you were using magic."

"I was feeling rather lazy. What are you here for now?"

"A book of course," he said slyly. She stop sweeping and looked up at him at last. He ignored the tug at his heart when he saw her eyes again.

"Which?"

"I was hoping you could recommend another?"

"By the amount of recommendations you require I would not be surprised if you have never picked up a book in your life!" she cried incredulously & set down her broom, disappearing into the many aisles. He scurried to catch up with her.

"Here." she thrust a book into his chest. "This one's only 5 sickles. If you don't mind, I'll finish cleaning up now." She picked up the broom and resumed sweeping. He almost left, when he blurted out something into the silence.

"Err, maybe I could stay and keep you company?" he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. Rose resisted the urge to burst out in laughter and the sight of him. She had observed him in many states over the years; confident, angry, drunk, and proud, but never nervous and it was quite the sight.

"I do this every night without company, I don't see what makes you think I need it this night."

He laughed lightly. "Surely you don't need it, but I thought it might be nice for both of us."

"Surely Scorpius Malfoy, the Quidditch hero of our time, has better ways to occupy his time on a friday night."

"So you're a fan," he smirked crossing his arms. This time she really did laugh.

"Hardly. I wouldn't call reading the paper from time to time and having a little brother who can only manage to talk about Quidditch or the witches of his class being a fan." He had no response and she was moments away from asking him to leave when something stopped her. Something about him made her want him to stay.

"I'll let you stay, but I'm going to continue with this," she lifted the broom slightly. "And don't go behind the counter."

"Of course." She turned on her heels and began to sweep up another aisle. He walked parallel to her in the neighboring row. The silence was deafening for a while, as Scorpius began to curse himself for even suggesting he stay. He had not a clue what to talk to her about. He almost made up an excuse to leave when she broke the silence.

"Did you enjoy seeing the country for a few days?" she said causally.

"Are you sure you aren't a fan?" he joked.

"I told you I read the paper. It isn't my fault they waste precious space covering your journey."

"It was nice. Didn't have much time to see anything for too long."

"I suppose they would keep your schedule pretty tight."

"They make more of my choices than I do sometimes. Have you traveled much?"

"A few times. We go to the french shore often with the rest of the family, although I wouldn't consider that a vacation."

"Ah, yes, Al mentioned that to me a few times. It always seemed like a good time." Of course, she thought. They were housemates and teammates during their time at Hogwarts, it would make sense that they were mates too.

"It was when I was younger, but after a while I grew tired of quidditch matches and chess games and dinners where it was too loud to hold any real conversation. I'd like to travel more, on my own one day. Do you travel much?"

"Every Christmas my dad surprises my mom with some trip somewhere around the world. But then it's just the three of us, which is a different kind of unpleasant."

"Ever been to Romania?" she put the broom away and began to dust the shelves.

"It's not exactly my mum's ideal destination." he chuckled. "Why do you ask?"

"It's the location of this year's World Cup. I reckon she'll be glad to go to see her son play."

"The more you talk Rose, the more I don't believe you aren't a fan," he grinned.

"The Prophet won't shut up about the hope for England."

"They haven't selected the team yet, but I doubt I'll be selected this year."

"Humble too. Do you have any flaws?" she teased.

"None that I can admit to you."

"I can think of one. You can be a right pain in the arse when I try to close down my- I mean the shop. Which I need to do now, if you don't mind."

"RIght then, I'll be off. I've gotten in your way enough." He headed towards the door and she followed in order to lock it behind him.

"Enjoy the book," she smiled sweetly before swiftly shutting the door and locking it in one movement. She sighed and she saw him disappear with one flick of the wand, apparating off to wherever it was young Quidditch players go on their friday nights.


	4. Chapter 4: A Regular Occurrence

Saturday morning Rose was the last one out of bed, an occurrence that rarely happened in the Granger-Weasley household. Hugo normally wouldn't leave his room until much later, which meant Rose almost never saw him. Saturdays were the only days the owner of the shop liked to work because his favorite customers came in and it gave him the chance to do the necessary paperwork. Rose wouldn't need to be in until the late afternoon.

"Oh how the tables have turned," Hugo teased her as she hoisted herself up onto the counter, pouring herself a cup of tea with magic.

"What woke you up, some poor witch bang her head while sneaking out of your window?" she snapped back and took a sip of her tea.

"Rose, don't joke about that. And get off the counter." her mother chided and Hugo sneered while Rose rolled her eyes and slid off.

"Actually, there's a Quidditch match this morning dear sister. Every other person in the Wizarding World knows about this."

"You got out of bed before mum had even finished brewing a pot just to watch some Quidditch match?"

"Not just any match, it's the Canons vs. the Magpies." her dad chimed in. Rose perked up when she heard the Magpies mentioned. "Want to join us?"

"Dad, Rose hates Quidditch."

"Actually, I'll watch." Rose surprised her family and plopped down in the seat between her father and her brother. Normally she would meet up with friends or run errands on her day off, but she was curious to see Scorpius outside of the bookshop.

"See that big ball there, Rosie?" Hugo gestured towards the magical television. "That is thrown threw any of those giant hoops, understand?"

"I know how Quidditch works, Hugo, I've been dragged to enough of some family member's matches to get it." she crossed her arms. "I'm just not stupid enough to entertain myself by watching it."

"You're brother is very smart," Hermione defended while Hugo scoffed.

"Can you believe that little git that Albus used to bring around to family matches is now a Magpie Seeker?"

"His team beat us everytime, Dad." Hugo reminded.

"Well they won't win this time," Ron exclaimed and Rose snickered. "What?"

"I may not watch that often, but I know the Cannons aren't exactly known for winning."

"Sometimes, I don't even believe you're my own daughter," Ron shook his head and Rose chuckled.

Although neither she nor her mother would consider themselves avid fans, a saturday morning Quidditch match was never a quiet occasion in their house. From the time the match began to the catching of the Snitch, emotions and voices were high. Even Rose could not stop herself from jumping up and screaming at a bad call or when the Magpies scored. She normally rooted against the Canons to rile her father up even more, but that day there seemed to be more to it. She kept an eye on Scorpius while he zoomed around the field, watching for the snitch. Unsurprisingly, the Canons were proving to be easily beatable. Rose had never seen a more inept Keeper in her life, and wondered how the man had been allowed onto the team at all. Scorpius, on the other hand, looked like he was born to be Seeker and Rose was impressed.

Once the Magpies were up by 200 points everyone was ready for a Seeker to end it, Rose because she was tired of cheering and her dad & brother because they were tired of their egos being repeatedly bruised. So when Scorpius finally darted through the air and held his arm up, proudly clutching the snitch, it was natural for her to cheer a little too enthusiastically for normal Rose. When questioned by her family she said she was just glad to get away from Quidditch, and that's the excuse she gave herself as well.

Saturday nights were the shop's slowest nights. By the time dinner rolled around people were either going out or staying in, neither of which included a small bookshop. She only had two customers the entire duration of her shift and she started to clean up earlier than she would on any other night. The shop was entirely clean by the time the door chimed and in walked none other than Scorpius. Rose suddenly became very aware of her shirt, which her father had charmed so it would be stuck as a Canons jersey until she said they were the best team three times, something that she hadn't bothered to swallow her pride and do yet. Scorpius was the last person on the planet she expected to see. She was surprised enough when he had come on friday night, let alone a saturday night after winning a game.

"Interesting choice of fashion tonight, Rose." he greeted.

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend," she shrugged, not bothering to jump off the countertop behind the register like she would have normally done for any other customer.

"I wouldn't exactly call me an enemy and I wouldn't call the Canons my enemy either."

"You are when you come in so close to closing on a saturday night." he moved closer to her and she noticed that he didn't look as disgusting as he did after the match on television. He had showered and changed, but he still had the glow of victory surrounding him. He looked good, she thought before quickly shaking the thought from her mind.

"Do you ever take a day off?" He asked her leaning over and propping his head up on his elbows next to the register.

"Saturday mornings actually. It's a pity you didn't drop in then."

"Oh, so you did watch the match."

"I have better things to do then watch you fly around on a broomstick."

"Not even when O'Rourke let in 30 quaffles?"

"Excuse you, Malfoy, but he only let in 22!"

"So you did watch!" he smirked.

"I heard my dad grumbling about it later," she crossed her arms but he saw right through her.

"Impressed with my performance?" he prodded, not letting her get away with lying. She admitted defeat when she replied,

"Not really. You could have ended the game much earlier. I bet you saw the snitch before but wanted O'Rourke to suffer more humiliation first."

"A seeker never shares his secrets." she rolled her eyes. They continued chatting like that until Rose could close the shop and she watched him disappear with the a loud pop.

Rose would have bet money that that was the last she saw of the boy. That the week had just been a blip and they would return to knowing little about each other the next week. Scorpius, on the other hand, was hoping that the more he visited the more she would open up to him, and he was determined to get to know her. Before either of them really realized what was happening, Scorpius' visits became a regular occurrence. Rose wasn't sure why she let it happen. She was not particularly convinced that he had good motives, and she wasn't sure what she wanted from him. Rose had made a habit of cleaning up the shop early so by the time 8:30 rolled around and he came, they could just sit and talk. She had even started letting him sit next to the register.

Scorpius had worried that they might eventually run out of things to say. That one day he would show up and he would be turned away. But they never seemed to. They talked about everything, from their crazy families to memories from Hogwarts to Quidditch and the latest news. The more he learned about her, the more time he wanted to spend with her. A month into the summer and they had both made it a part of their own routine.

A month into the summer, on a hot friday evening, Rose sat in the shop, listening to Scorpius' match on the radio. They were, of course, winning and Rose was happy, although she already knew she would pretend to not be impressed when she saw him later. She cleaned the store early and was sitting on the counter, flipping through Witch Weekly, when he walked in.

"There was no need to dress up for me, Scorpius," she teased. He looked freshly showered, like he always did after a match, but this time instead of his normal joggers and a Magpies shirt, he was in dark jeans, a button down, and nice shoes. If Rose was being honest with herself, she would recognize that she was incredibly attracted to him in that moment, but she would never admit that to herself or to anyone else.

"This is how one dresses when they are the greatest Quidditch star England has ever seen."

"That doesn't explain why you are dressed like that." he rolled his eyes. They continued on that way, her critiquing his performance by making up ridiculous flaws and then talking about the ridiculous customers she had dealt with. At 9, he said goodnight and left, and she quickly closed the register. She uttered the charm to lock the door, when something startled her so much she dropped her wand.

"Rose," a nearby voice called from the darkness. Seeing she was startled, Scorpius quickly stepped into the light.

"Merlin's balls Scorpius! What the bloody hell made you think that was a good idea?" she cried as she bent down to get her wand.

"I didn't think about it," he said sheepishly, trying not to laugh. She sighed.

"Did you forget something inside?" she asked.

"No I have a question for you." he paused.

"Well go ahead and ask it, I don't want to stand out here all night."

"Doyouwanttogotoapartywithme?" he spat out.

"Come again?" she snickered.

"There's a party, at that new club down the block, and I can bring a friend." Rose frose. Never in the entire summer did she think that she and Scorpius would ever spend time together outside the shop. It was like their own bubble and a secret she had liked to keep. "I promise it will be fun." And for the second time that summer something about the boy in front of her made her go against every notion she had.

"Fine. But I need to go home and change." he grinned.

"A trip to the Granger-Weasley house, how exciting." Rose internally groaned. There was no way she could let her parents see Scorpius, late at night, about to take her out to a club. That kind of behavior they expected from her brother, but never from Rose. But that meant she could only bring him one way; apparition. Rose took a deep breath before offering her arm to Scorpius and turning, disappearing from the Alley with a loud snap.

When she opened her eyes she was hit with a wave of nausea, but she was in her bedroom with Scorpius who was taking it in, trying to learn as much as he could from her room.

"Rose?" her mom called from down the hall. Rose hurried to the door and peeked out.

"Yeah it's me."

"Did you apparate?" her mom questioned, knowing that her daughter hated it.

"Thought I would give it another go." her mom accepted this excuse and Rose quickly shut the door. "Okay, you sit here," she pulled out a chair and pointed it towards the wall. "While I change real quick." he followed her instructions and she hurried into the closet to pull together an outfit. Rose didn't have much that would look good enough for a Quidditch celebratory party at a club. She had a few outfits that she had acquired for different occasions with her friends but she couldn't decide what was best for this occasion, especially since she was going out with Scorpius. Finally she settled on something, charmed her hair into a slick ponytail, leaving a few curls hanging out, and fixed up her makeup.

"I'm ready," she announced and he whipped around while standing up. As soon as he saw her he could have sworn his heart stopped. She had chosen a black wrap dress with a deep V-cut, black block heels, and deep red lipstick that brought it all together. Scorpius wanted to take her in his arms and fall back on her bed, but he knew better than to try that with a girl who usually gave him only thirty minutes per day.

"Right, let's go then." he offered his arm to her this time since he had the best image of the club in his mind for apparition. Rose took another deep breath, but this time she was more nervous about the evening than the travel means.

There was a line down the block to get into the club, and you could hear the bass pumping from outside. By the entrance there were cameras and reporters, no doubt from the celebrity section of the Prophet and other publications. Scorpius led her towards the VIP entrance, right by all the cameras. Once they were inside Scorpius yelled an apology about the press and Rose just shrugged it off. She was used to press. She was closely related to Harry Potter and her parents were 2/3s of the golden trio. The night was a whirlwind from there. Rose met so many Quidditch players she wished her brother could see her in that moment. At one point Scorpius disappeared to get them drinks and Rose was left on her own.

"Rose Weasley?" a voice came from behind and Rose spun around to find herself face to face with Natalie Thomas, a girl from her class at Hogwarts, who was far more popular than Rose, had more than once been a source of insults for Rose, and was Scorpius' on again off again girlfriend at school. Rose forced a smile.

"Natalie."

"Never would I have guessed sweet little Rose would find her way here, and in the VIP section nonetheless."

"I'm full of surprises." Right as she said that, Scorpius appeared and handed her a drink.

"Yes you are," Natalie sneered. "Scorpius! How funny to run into you here." she pulled him into a long hug. Rose wanted nothing to do with the little reunion about to happen, so she quietly made her way to a barstool where she began to go through drinks quicker than she should have, watching Scorpius talk to Natalie the whole time. After 5 drinks (Rose usually stuck to one, if any) Rose made her way back to Scorpius.

"I think I'm going to go home," she said putting her hand on his shoulder to get his attention.

"We just got here," he cried in protest.

"I know, but you don't need me here to have a good time." He shook his head.

"I'm not letting you leave before we dance," he grabbed her hand. "Have a good night, Natalie," he called over his shoulder where he left Natalie fuming before pulling Rose into the heart of the dancefloor.

One drink Rose would never had agreed to dance in public like this. But that night, Rose let go of all her insecurities and began to dance closely to Scorpius, keeping eye contact with him the entire time. Scorpius was incredibly turned on, and he wanted to know how Rose felt desperately, so he pulled her in and spun her around, leaving her to grind against him on the dancefloor. Rose was exhilarated, she had never done anything like this before, but you wouldn't able to tell, the pair were moving together in perfect sync. Scorpius didn't know how long they were like that, but when she eventually turned her head and looked at him again, he couldn't help but lean down to close the distance between their lips. But before he could actually kiss her, she abruptly spun around and took a step back.

"I have to go," she blurted out before scurrying into the crowd, not giving Scorpius the time to even say goodbye or offer to bring her home. He was left in the middle of the dancefloor, heart racing, and wondering if he had messed everything up.


	5. Chapter 5: Just Friends

A loud knock on the door pulled Scorpius from his deep slumber. Immediately he felt the effects of the night before and he almost fell back asleep before the door burst open. He sat up in bed as his father stormed in, followed by his mother. Scorpius was startled until he remembered how he had connected his flat to the Manor on the floo network. Draco threw a newspaper down on Scorpius' lap and crossed his arms. Scorpius picked up the paper and the images on the cover flooded his memory with events of the night before.

On the front page of the Daily Prophet were pictures of him at the club with Rose. The first two were innocent, them walking in and grabbing a drink. But the other two were more scandalous of them dancing and almost kissing. Scorpius groaned.

"What in Merlin's name are you doing sprawled across the front page of the Prophet with a Weasley?" Draco demanded.

"It was nothing dad, we were just at the same club."

"This is ridiculous, Scorpius. Your father and I have supported you in your quidditch career even though we wanted you to follow your father's footsteps into the Ministry, but this is too much."

"I thought you said you were only friends with the Slytherin Potter boy," Draco narrowed his eyes.

"I am and I haven't even seen him since the school term ended." Scorpius insisted.

"You have to fix this, Scorpius, we cannot have you fraternizing with a Weasley dragging our name through the mud."

"I rather think me being with a Weasley would help our name,"Scorpius murmured and his parents glared. "Don't worry, Rose and I are only friends, and we're barely that."

"Fine, just don't let it happen again," Draco uncrossed his arms.

"And come home for dinner every once and awhile, I don't know how you survive here," his mother insisted.

"Don't make me regret connecting you to my flat," he called as they left the room before falling back into his pillow.

Rose forced herself out of bed early to open the shop, drinking a hangover potion on the way. She was out of the house before anyone else had stirred, and before anyone else had their hands on the Daily Prophet. When Rose picked it up after opening the store, she was panicked and confused. A thousand thoughts rushed through her head. She had thought she had imagined him trying to kiss her, but there it was right in front of her. What would people think about her? What would her family say? Dread passed through her when she realized it was sunday. And for the Weasley-Potters, that meant dinner at the Burrow.

She was on edge for the rest of the day. Every time the door opened she worried he would be there, and she couldn't handle speaking to him in that moment. She didn't know what his behavior meant. He was not the type to go for girls like her, he prefered the Natalies of the world and she wasn't even sure that she had any feelings for him. She had to focus on how she would handle dinner. The Burrow was the last place she wanted to be that day, but it was nearly impossible to get out of Sunday dinner unless you wanted Grandma Molly to hunt you down and leave you out of the sweater-receiving for Christmas.

When the day finally ended Rose begrudgingly flooed to the Burrow, unsure of what was in store for her. Albus was the first one to see her and before anyone else noticed she had arrived he dragged her upstairs to one of the old bedrooms. Albus and Rose were by no means close. After being sorted into different houses in school they drifted apart, playing the occasional chess game at a Sunday dinner or buying each other a drink when they ran into each other while out.

"How long have you been screwing him?" Albus asked as soon as the door shut.

"Bloody hell," Rose groaned. "I have never screwed him. He comes into the shop sometimes, he invited me out as friends and things got out of hand after a few too many firewhiskeys."

"Those pictures look a bit more than friendly."

"Like you've never done anything you regret while drunk," she crossed her arm.

"What's your game plan for tonight?"

"Suffer, but that's nothing new."

"When are you going to stop resenting this family, it got old after 5th year." Rose scowled.

"I'm going to go get a drink."

"Yeah, because that worked out so well for you last night." She let the door slam behind her and stormed off.

In the kitchen she poured herself a large glass of wine. Before she could take her first sip, her cousins Lily, Roxanne and Dominique cornered her.

"Tell. Us. Everything." Rose took a large gulp and set her glass down.

"It's really nothing to talk about."

"Rose, why bother lying to us, the whole wizarding world read this morning's paper," Lily sighed.

"And if you tell us everything, we can help you dodge all the questions we know are coming your way once every Weasley is around the same table," Roxanne chimed in.

"You're never the center of attention Rose, let us help you," Dominique nudged her aggravated cousin.

"Fine. He came into the shop one night and now he comes in, semi-frequently, and we've become sort of friends. There's this whole other dimension to him that I never saw in high school, he actually enjoys reading. Last night, he invited me out and things got, well you saw, a little out of hand. But we're strictly friends, whatever happened last night was a misunderstanding."

"Just friends my ass," Dominique murmured and Rose furrowed her eyebrows.

"C'mon Rose! 'There is a whole other dimension to him'" ROxanne rolled her eyes. "You like him!"

"I never saw Scorpius Malfoy reading a book a day in my life," Lily added. "I don't think it's the books he keeps coming back for."

"Knock it off! Of course I find him," she paused "attractive, but everyone else on the bloody planet does as well. He is so not my type and don't even get me started on our parents. It would never work. Just friends is just the way I want it to be."

"For someone who resents her parents so much, you seem to care an awful lot now," Roxanne said.

"I don't resent my parents," Rose started to raise her voice. "I resent that my parents are the fucking saviors of the wizarding world and that-"

"Alright, let's keep things civil," Lily interjected. "How do you want us to play this off, Rose? This is pretty big news, even for this family.

"I'm just going to ignore it. I'm the angry, resentful one. No one is going to dare say anything to my face at the dinner table, that would be outrageous." Her three cousins were silent. They did not quite agree with her tactic but they knew there was no chance they could change her mind.

Not long after the four cousins had hatched "plan," dinner began. Rose sat in between Lily and Dominique, who both planned on pushing away any stray family member who tried to question Rose. However, even though no one would address her directly, Rose could not ignore the sound of her aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins, and even her own mother talking about her. After the main course was carried out and she could have sworn she heard someone use the term pureblood slut, Rose could not take it anymore. She slammed down her wine glass and, despite Lily's desperate plea for her to stop, climbed onto the table. For once, silence befell the Weasley sunday dinner table.

"Hello, dear loved ones," Rose said loudly, her face turning bright red. "Thank you so much for your attention. As I have heard you all indiscreetly and disrespectfully discussing over this lovely dinner, I am friends with Scorpius Malfoy. I use the term friends, because that is all we are and all we will ever be. You lot need to get out a lot more if this is the most exciting thing to talk about over dinner and I am sure there was far more important news in that paper than me, spending a normal saturday night as a recently graduated witch with a friend. Now, if we could all return to our food and move on with our lives, that would be lovely." She finished strong.

No one said anything, most of them stared blankly back at her although her mother looked slightly amused and slightly mortified. Rose was about to sit down until she remembered what exactly had made her so angry.

"Oh, one more thing. When I find out, and I will find out, which one of you used the term 'pureblood slut' to describe this top-witch of her Hogwarts' class I will hex you all the way to-" before she could finish her threat the loud crack of someone apparating into the Burrow silenced her. Everyone turned towards the source of the noise to see none other that, Scorpius Malfoy. Everyone was silent, except for Albus, who began to snicker.

"Erm, I see I'm a bit early for the quidditch match this evening," Scorpius grimaced nervously.

"Nah, mate, you're just in time," Albus grinned and pulled out the seat he had just conjured next to him. Rose shot Albus a glare as Lily finally pulled her down from her table. She was going to kill him before the night was over, she was sure of it.


	6. Chapter 6: Right?

Rose had sat through her fair share of uncomfortable Sunday dinners. There was the one where Victore invited both of her boyfriends to decide which one handled her family better, when they didn't realize they were both dating her; the one after her dad had forgotten his wedding anniversary (it was that day), and of course the one where James announced he would be helping Uncle George run the joke shop instead of joining his father in the Auror department. But Rose had always been a spectator in those, never the subject. This was absolutely terrible. No one had bought her just friends speech and any time either Scorpius or Rose said anything to anyone, someone would look at the other to see how they reacted. Rose was sure this was more stressful than any exam she had ever taken.

"Albus Severus Potter!" Rose threatened, pulling her scheming cousin into a cupboard. "What game do you think you are playing?"

"Scorpius hasn't been 'round for Quidditch in a while and I figured the family missed the poor boy's face," Albus shrugged. "Why do you care? I thought you were friends now or whatever all that was about."

"I just find the timing of it all, fascinating," Rose sneered.

"The world doesn't revolve around you. Now I have to go, the match is about to start," Albus ran off before Rose could say another word.

The Weasley-Potters loved Quidditch. If you wouldn't be playing in their weekly match, you would surely be watching. So Rose begrudgingly walked down to their makeshift pitch and took a seat next to her mother among the other spectators. The only thing Rose hoped would not happen was that her father and Scorpius would be on opposing teams. Ron was the only Weasley that seemed to not have a say in the whole matter, but Rose could tell he was fuming at what he had seen on the Daily Prophet that morning and Rose knew that Quidditch would be the only way her father could justifiably destroy Scorpius. It was Ron's turn to be captain against her aunt Ginny, who sadly got first pick. To no one's surprise she picked Scorpius first. Ron groaned but Rose also saw a hint of excitement flash in her father's eyes. Rose began to feel queasy. This was not something she wanted to see unfold in front of her. Once the teams were sorted out and the game began it was clear that Ron had set his team out to do one thing, destroy Scorpius. The one thing Rose was happy about was that her dad played keeper and Scorpius was seeker which meant there was no reason for them to interact much. But Rose could tell that Ron had said something that set the rest of his team off, especially her cousin James who was seeker and her brother Hugo, who was beater. Both of them had never been a fan of Scorpius for some outdated family feud and Rose had a feeling her father chose them for that exact reason.

The game began and Rose was on the edge of her seat. A part of her was furious at Scorpius for even coming to dinner. He had come to plenty of Weasley-Potter dinners and holidays and had to have known that her family would go mad. Another part of her was worried for his safety because she was sure her father had set her brother up for some foul play. And the last part of her was excited. Excited because she had never really paid much attention to Scorpius playing quidditch in person before; not at any of his matches at Hogwarts or any of the times he had played in her family matches.

For a while, nothing too exciting happened, a few scores for both teams but nothing that particularly caught Rose's attention. Scorpius looked perfectly calm and concentrated. It was clear that he loved what he did, and Rose loved the way he looked doing it, though she wasn't even ready to admit that to herself. Rose was watching him carefully when he looked down and caught her eye. He grinned and winked at the girl watching from below and Rose couldn't help but grin back. Suddenly, something caught them both off guard. Hugo had seized that moment of distraction to send a bludger hurdling straight at Scorpius' chest. Her breath caught in her chest as she watched Scorpius barely dodge the bludger and nearly lost his balance, recovering just in time. Rose exhaled deeply.

"You're worried about him," Hermione observed looking at her daughter.

"Any sane person would be with dad and Hugo up against him," Rose retorted.

"Perhaps, but I think it's more. One of the first moments I realized I had feelings for your father was when-"

"Mum, please, not another story 'bout you and dad in school," Rose groaned.

"-was when he started playing Quidditch our fifth year. I had the same look on my face."

"As I have already stated many times, Scorpius and I are just friends."

"Maybe, but I would have said the same about your father at the time."

"You and I are not the same mum, sorry to disappoint." Rose crossed her arms.

"Whatever you say, but I think we're more similar than you like to admit."

Rose rolled her eyes before returning her attention back to the Quidditch pitch. A few more shady throws from Hugo later and Rose was ready to curse her brother, but it didn't seem to faze Scorpius.

Scorpius didn't know what he was doing. He didn't know why he had come to the Burrow when Albus asked him. He didn't know why he had stayed for the Quidditch match (he wasn't supposed to play outside of his professional career to avoid the risk of injury, something that seemed increased with Hugo on the opposing team). And he didn't know why seeing Rose smile back at him made him so happy. What he did know is that he wanted to win this match more than any of the others at the Burrow that he had ever played. So, when he finally spotted the snitch he pulled out all the stops to catch it first. Unfortunately, Harry Potter spotted it almost immediately after Scorpius did, and he wasn't going to let it go without a fight. Mr. Potter was a worthy opponent for Scorpius. In fact, Scorpius thought he probably could have gone pro as well if it wasn't for the whole "boy who lived savior of the world as we know it" stuff. Harry had recognized early in his time playing against Scorpius that the boy played much like his father had in their time at Hogwarts. Perhaps if Harry was in his prime and Scorpius was his father Harry could have caught the snitch first. But, just like many matches before, Harry miscalculated because while Scorpius certainly shared some features with his father, they were not the same man. After a good fight, Scorpius outplayed the boy who lived and caught the snitch.

Down on the ground, half the spectators cheered and the other half groaned. Rose half cheered and fully exhaled for the first time since the match began. Then all of her anger flooded back and she immediately rushed to inside to avoid having to speak to him. Unfortunately for her, everyone else followed and soon they were all gathered in the sitting room, tea brewing, and conversations flowing. Rose kept quiet and when she thought no one was looking she hid away in her father's old room. Covering the walls were pictures of her mom, dad, aunt and uncle throughout their years at Hogwarts and beyond. She found one of the golden trio around what she assumed was their fifth year. For a fleeting moment in the photo Rose saw her young parents glance at each other and she could see what her mom was talking about earlier. If someone took a photo of her and Scorpius would she have the same look in her eyes? She realized she didn't have to wonder because people had taken photos of them together. Not wanting to go back to the crowd, she withdrew her wand and summoned the Daily Prophet to her.

Scorpius was making small talk with some of Rose's cousins, he couldn't remember which, when he noticed the Daily Prophet in the corner of the room suddenly levitate and float off towards the stairs. Scorpius had noticed Rose disappear in the same direction earlier and he was sure it was her calling the paper towards her. He excused himself to go to the loo but instead quietly trailed behind the flying newspaper.

Rose grabbed the newspaper out of the air and began carefully examining her gaze in the photos. She looked closely and what she feared could be true was true. To verify she held the photo of her and Scorpius up to the photo of her parents. Her mother may have been right, they had more in common than Rose thought.

"What are you doing?" Scorpius' voice pierced the silence and Rose jumped and dropped the Prophet.

"What the hell are you doing?" She nervously replied.

"I followed the floating newspaper. Question is what are you doing with it?"

"It's rude to startle people like that," she deflected.

"My sincerest apologies, now stop avoiding my question."

"I wanted to," Rose struggled to find a reasonable answer. "Read it," she finally managed.

"You didn't read it?"

"I was too shocked," she feigned. "Why are you here?" she changed the subject.

"I told you, I followed the-"

"No, why did you come here today. You haven't been to a Sunday dinner since Christmas holiday."

"Albus invited me and I didn't want to be rude."

"And you didn't think Albus had any ulterior motives?"

"I needed to talk to you about last night."

"What about it?"

"Rose, what happened between us,"

"Nothing happened between us," she cut him off. "We had a few too many drinks, things got misconstrued in the Prophet like they always do. We're just friends."  
"Right," Scorpius replied, but deep inside he knew he was never going to be satisfied with that.


End file.
